The Diaphorodoris papillata, better known as a red-bellied rooster, is a sea slug that searches for food among the debris left by a lava flow. This species is less common than D. luteocincta and usually lives in the same habitat as it, that is, on poorly lit rock walls with an abundance of algae and sessile invertebrate fauna. This sea slug is a very abundant species on our coast and can be observed throughout the year. Lives on rocky bottoms among algae.
The Red-Bellied Cock of the Sea: Diaphorodoris Papillata
The Diaphorodoris papillata, to some, looks like a unicorn, to others a rooster, but in reality, it is a sea slug, white and ends in a tail that has a longitudinal dorsal keel pigmented in opaque white. The mouth lacks labial palps and is instead surrounded by two thick rounded bulbs.
The mantle, oval in shape, has the anterior region wider than the posterior and is covered with large digitiform papillae. The rhinophores are very long, partially retractable, and have 11 lamellae in a 5 mm specimen. The gills, unipinnate, have 5 leaves in a 5 mm specimen and 6 in one 8 mm, the previous three, especially the central one, are the largest. The tail is wide and pointed. On both sides of the mouth, there are two bumps or lobes that correspond to the oral tentacles.
The white background color is translucent, with a yellow edge. The papillae are red or with a white base and the rest are red. In the central part of the notum, an opaque white spot is observed that corresponds to the visceral mass. The rhinophores and gills are the same color as the notum but with an opaque white apex. The tail is run longitudinally by an opaque white band in a mid-dorsal position and with the end of the same color as the band. The foot is translucent white.
The radular formula of two specimens of 8 and 10 mm is 24×1.1.0.1.1. The internal lateral teeth are hooked and with a wide base, although the innermost one has a denticulated edge (up to 16 denticles) and is much larger than the external one. The lip cuticle is smooth.
This story was written in Spanish by Perla Vallejo in Ecoosfera
